The proverbial book that is the 2024 CFB season is approaching its epilogue. Players in the upper echelons are divided into two factions. Those with a near-sighted focus on December’s playoffs and those already eyeing April’s draft. Perhaps begrudgingly for Travis Hunter he falls in the latter category. The Heisman winner is, conservatively, a top 5 name off the board. That’s irrefutable. However, one ex-NFL scout believes his college escapades wouldn’t quite translate to the pros with linearity.

Just like the players, fans, and stakeholders are also divided, with some overlapping in between. Kind of like a Venn diagram of sorts. There are some who believe Travis Hunter, who plays some snaps on defense, should be a receiver in the NFL. A majority believe he’d be a lockdown corner used on offense in timely scenarios. And those in the middle are hoping this unicorn continues doing both with equality and pomp. John Middlekauf is of the opinion Travis’ future lies as a cornerback. Not only because he’s perceived to be better at it, but because doing both is unsustainable.

Appearing on The Colin Cowherd Podcast with the namesake host, both football savants were in unison. Albeit their reasons were slightly different. Cowherd spoke about how playing both sides will mean he has to divide time in practice. This, in turn, will make it difficult to be on the same page with his quarterback. Middlekauff brought forth a different perspective. “My theory on [Travis Hunter playing both positions] is, I do think physically, it’s very hard to play corner [because] every team has good receivers now. We said it was hard in college. To go to the NFL and do it? It’d be hard to, you know, maintain your health doing both, I think, at the NFL level.” he said.

Middlekauff also presented a scenario where franchises and coaches will themselves want to limit Travis. “If you’re a team- if you’re my starting corner [and] one of my starting wide receivers- if you get injured, I lose two spots, right? So it’s kind of a weird spot to be in,” he said. “If Derek Stingley [Jr.] gets injured, I don’t also lose Nico Collins!” While Middlekauff thinks- in an ideal world- If Travis Hunter were to play one position exclusively, it should be at cornerback, he gave a rationale on why certain factors may push him to be a receiver.

External voices could reasonably force Travis Hunter to primarily play WR

Wide receivers today are more quintessential than they’ve ever been in football history. As the game moves towards the air and away from the ground, they’re a precious commodity. This means they’re paid like that, too. The receiver market has seen exponential growth in terms of the figures afforded to them. The top-earning receivers make nearly 50% more than the top corners. John Middlekauff believes this is inadvertently a factor for Travis Hunter.

“I think everyone’s going to push him to be a corner. But, you know, agents and money-people will go, ‘Look at the wide receivers [and] how much money they’re making.’ I wonder if it’s going to be a little tug-of-war on the business side also .” he said. Travis won the Fred Biletnikoff Award this season, bestowed upon the best WR in the country.

The general consensus is that Travis will be a cornerback, at least primarily. Finding an elite player in that position is perhaps more difficult than finding a receiver. Fans of the sport will hope he continues doing both in some capacity. Seeing how his game develops going forward is an enthralling prospect. Imagine what a Heisman winner could transpire into if he’s putting 2x more of his time into nurturing one skill position.